FAULT LINES

Narrator Lydia Wilson delivers an intimate, compulsive listening experience in this exploration of marriage, motherhood, and societal pressures. The story is told from the first-person perspective of Mizuki, a Japanese housewife in contemporary Tokyo who is growing increasingly dissatisfied with her daily life. Wilson captures Mizuki's wit and self-deprecating humor through her deadpan delivery, infusing a lightness in Mizuki's ponderings of suicide and adultery. While Wilson's native British accent works for Mizuki's intermittent use of British slang, both are incongruous choices as Mizuki spent time earlier in the U.S., not the U.K., as a student and aspiring singer. Nevertheless, Wilson's skillful portrayal of the complexities of Mizuki's feelings, the rich Tokyo setting, and the distinct writing style is refreshing and engaging. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2021]